printemps, almost.

with this gorgeous sunny weather, and spring a heavy hint upon the air, i can't help but to take photographs of my little floral vignettes... ahhhh- can't wait to get out into the garden.

billy balls.

those amazing yellow pod-like flowers are commonly referred to as "billy balls" (botanical name is 'craspedia'). some shots of flowers that will be used in an upcoming wedding 'posy' has lined up for the fall. the bride has awesome, exotic taste. that orange flower (not the spray roses) is called 'ranunculus.' i am just in love...

bobbin' and weavin'.

so i'm going to finally learn how to sew. so, sew, right? not so simple after all. went to the fabric store yesterday and felt as if i was crashing someone else's party; or sneaking in the backdoor of the freemason's temple disguised as a man who knows the secret knock. well peple, i infact don't know the secret knock. scads of women roamed the aisles with the same determined (yet oddly blank) expressions. i noticed several quickly identifiable sects in this secret club of women: the older women, well-heeled, drenched in perfume ladies who stuck around only in the upholstery and 'designer' aisles.... the women sewing what i can only imagine could be iceskating costumes- who hung around the 'razzle-dazzle' section- sequins, metallic pom-pom trims, etc. Then there were the women whom i suspect could be described as sewing 'purists'- i.e. everything they ever wear is handmade, but they try to erase any signs of the handmade (which is what gives 'handmade' its charm, in my opinion). Their devotion is made obvious by their matchy-matchy vogue pattern no. 2,000,000,043 ensembles... and don't forget the sports fanatic/school spirit mom, who devoured any ream of uva fabric that crossed her path- as if someone else behind her was also trying to grab it. And i swear this one woman was following me- part of the razzle-dazzle sect- she would pick up everything that i touched almost immediately after i touched it- i noticed this because she was straying far past the metallic pom-poms, all the way to the blase blah purse handles....hmmm. i really liked some of the fabrics i saw. most of them involved small dots. i saw alot of fabrics that i didn't like... I really felt lost in there, but was afraid if I asked a question the other women would overhear and then promptly tar and feather me. yes. I am an almost thirty year old woman and i know NOTHING about sewing. so there. if ever something required sewing or mending, i would place it in a bag, in the farthest reaches of my closet, and wait for the sewing fairy to retrieve it (my guess is that the bag is still there, because none of these items have reappeared in my wardrobe). My mom came over yesterday and helped me put my thread spools in the right places... my machine has a self-threading needle, and apparently this is a very cool thing. I practiced some stitches, however the bobbin' is misbehavin'. somethin is amiss with my bobbin. my bobbin is turnin my headache throbbin..... you get the point. even after troubleshooting with my manual it is still jamming up the works. cassie: i need you. to be cont'd.

mr. independent.

henry holding his own bottle... next he'll be asking for the keys to the car?

posy.

some flowers i put together for someone just after valentine's day. callas and another white flower were specifically requested, along with a red bow. i usually don't like to do bows, so i made this one as different as i could get away with.

in a lovin' mood.

some more things that are turning my pupils into little hearts... i just saw a preview for the new spring keds line, and they've brought in other designers, in addition to a return by eleanor grosch. who knew keds could be cool again? i thought they were so over when i returned to school after summer break from the seventh grade. i really love my owl keds from the fall, but nico p'd on them, and they shrunk in the wash. bad dog. i am also lovin' on some thomas pynchon (early stories) slow learner- haven't really revisited since i was wowed by one of his short stories (entropy) in college. and- the new anthropologie catalogues just arrived. loveliness. i am so feelin' the wallpapers... and these peel right on and right off- not your mother's wallpaper. and for the piece de resistance, also via anthropologie: the chlorophyll study dress, a jaunty little number, perfect for those spring weddings.... shows the cross-section of a leaf, all cellular style- oh i love this in a bad, bad way. tres jolie. too bad i have no $$$$ for these sorts of things.... but okay to dream.

zz top.

beard or moustache? henry can't decide...

pie love.

a shot of the homemade apple pie i made for our valentine's dinner last night. yum. it was mike's present (he requested it) along with a homemade valentine. no disgusting american pie references, pleeeeeease. me- i got a sewing machine! now i can start more unfinished projects! no really, i have pillows that need to be made, and then curtains for henry's room and our french doors are so naked and need drapes as well..... i hope i can figure out how to work this thing- i've never used a sewing machine before in my life.

thursday (aka"day of The Office").

i ate a salad for breakfast this morning and thought to myself: why don't i eat a salad for breakfast every day? what a delicious and healthy way to start the day. i always get a little too crazy with the balsamic, though.

i heart you.

happy valentine's day to all of my loved ones out there.

dry loop.

well, my posting roll (I was on a real roll there with the posting!) was interrupted by our bright idea to rid our lives of the pesky telemarketers.... when we had our regular phone disconnected there was supposed to be no interruption in our dsl service. wrong.... when we couldn't get online Mike called the company only to discover that although they could disconnect us internally, they'd have to reconnect us externally (huh? why/how is that?) and that our "dry loop" (what?) did not yet technically exist... when Mike asked to speak to a manager, because this was not what he was promised earlier, they routed him to "john" (ironic! we got rid of our phone because we didn't want to speak to "john" anymore!) and "john" didn't speak any form of english that was able to be understood.... so "john" routed him back to the states, and Mike swiftly promised never to do business with that dsl provider ever again..... which meant that our new service provider is a company that I REALLY hate doing business with.... oh well. gotta keep those posts rolling.... or do I? I don't think anyone reads this blog anyway. So- Henry and I have been reading and getting cosy and doing things that are really better than looking at the computer. that is Henry, above, digging on one of his new favorite toys- a truck that is also a book- it makes a revving engine noise when you press the front wheel, and tells a story about a farmer bringing his foods to the market in town.

wolverine.

went to the courthouse galleries this weekend to see an exhibition of audubon's "magnum opus, 'the vivaparous quadrupeds of north america.'" it was a show of original hand-colored lithographs... going was mike's idea- i thought it might be a total yawn, but it was surprisingly fascinating. my new favorite animal is the wolverine. fierce.

rain.

some rainy day observations, notes: 1)henry's hair is coming in, finally thickening up. It is a glorious shade of honey brown.
2)speaking of other (not so glorious) shades of brown... the thought had not occured to me that upon introducing solids into henry's diet, the contents of his diaper would swiftly, um, change- in various ways... 3) the beatle's white album is our new favorite afternoon dance/listening music. it is so kid friendly, with hits like ob-la-di, ob-la-da, piggies, and rocky the racoon... we'll overlook 'happiness is a warm gun' and 'why don't we do it in the road'... since henry isn't technically speaking english yet, I don't really need to worry about him asking "mommy, what's a fix?" yet. it frightens me to think those days are upon us, sooner than we think. will I have to stop listening to peaches, or dr. dre? I suppose certain things will have to be confined to henry-free moments.

snow.

snow, beautiful snow; oh but if only for a fleeting moment. (click on the picture to actually see the snow)